Joe Burrow leads No. 6 LSU past No. 9 Texas

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Joe Burrow was nearly perfect in the second half against Texas.

He had to be.

With Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger matching him nearly blow for blow, Burrow and No. 6 LSU’s new, wide-open offense could afford to make no mistakes. They didn’t, and Burrow delivered all the big throws for the Tigers in a wild 45-38 win over the No. 9 Longhorns Saturday night in one of the biggest nonconference matchups of the season.

Burrow passed for 471 yards and four touchdowns, the last one to Justin Jefferson for 61 yards with 2:27 to play in a game that saw Texas storm back from a 20-7 halftime deficit and the teams trade seven touchdowns in the second half.

“Man, he was so fired up,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “The kid is a baller. He lives for that moment and I’ll tell you what, those were some tough plays”

Burrow was razor sharp after halftime when he was 15-of-18 passing for 251 yards and two touchdowns. The final touchdown to Jefferson came on a third-and-long when Burrow stepped up to avoid a blitz and fired the pass. The completion was good enough for a first down and Jefferson did the rest when he broke a tackle and burst up the sideline to the end zone.

“I think if they get the ball back, it would have been a different story,” said Orgeron, who was watching Ehlinger riddle the Tigers defense. “A phenomenal call, a phenomenal catch, a phenomenal play.”

Jefferson finished with three touchdown catches and was one of three LSU receivers with more than 100 yards.

“They (Texas) were playing so well, I told the guys, we gotta get 40 and we’ll win,” Burrow said. “We had over 500 yards. It could have been 600, 700.”

The touchdown put LSU (2-0) up by 14 but Ehlinger brought Texas back again with his fourth touchdown pass and second on the night to Devin Duvernay. LSU didn’t put the game away until Texas came within inches of recovering an onside kick with 22 seconds left.

Ehlinger finished with 401 yards passing and four touchdowns for the Longhorns (1-1).

The win will give LSU some big early momentum in the long-term goal of reaching the College Football Playoff, but the rough SEC schedule still looms.

“I think it’s a big statement, but obviously we want to play better,” Orgeron said.

Texas coach Tom Herman said he’ll immediately get his team to focus on the Big 12.

“This is Game 2 of a marathon,” Herman said. “All our goals are still out there.”

After the game, Herman and Burrow had a long embrace on the field. Herman was an assistant at Ohio State when he recruited Burrow to the Buckeyes but then left to take the head coaching job at Houston. Burrow spent three years at Ohio State before transferring to LSU.

Burrow also made a point to talk with Ehlinger, who kept bringing Texas back.

“He’s a super tough guy. I was honored to be on the same field with him,” Burrow said.

No. 1 Clemson 24, No. 12 Texas A&M 10

In Clemson, South Carolina, Trevor Lawrence threw for one touchdown and ran for another and the Tigers won their record-tying 17th straight game with a dominating victory.

No. 2 Alabama 62, New Mexico State 10

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tua Tagovailoa passed for three touchdowns and ran 25 yards for a fourth, all in the first half of Alabama’s victory.

No. 3 Georgia 63, Murray State 17

In Athens, Georgia, D’Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns, Jake Fromm threw for 166 yards and a score, and the No. 3 Bulldogs broke loose in the second quarter.

No. 4 Oklahoma 70, South Dakota 14

In Norman, Oklahoma, Jalen Hurts passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns in just over two quarters and the Sooners rolled past South Dakota.

No. 5 Ohio State 42, Cincinnati 0

In Columbus, Ohio, Justin Fields passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more scores for Ohio State.

No. 7 Michigan 24, Army 21 (2OT)

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jake Moody made a 43-yard field goal and the Wolverines forced and recovered a fumble to hold on for a 24-21 double-overtime victory.

Michigan (2-0) didn’t lead until the second extra period and would have lost to the Black Knights (1-1) at the end of regulation if Cole Talley made a 50-yard kick that sailed just short and to the right.

It marked the second straight year the U.S. Military Academy nearly beat a Top 10 team for the first time in more than a half-century. The Black Knights pushed No. 5 Oklahoma into overtime on the road last year before losing 28-21.